Pokémon

Pros

• in Pokémon the character named Misty is named 小霞 xiǎo xiá
• I can read Pokemon anything with relative ease, but if I swap to Carmen Sandiego (another Children's IP) then it's like I don't know Japanese at all.
• The goal is to immerse yourself in your target language, but keep yourself interested through a hobby. Pokémon is great!
• Good shows for beginners are Peppa Wutz and Pokemon
• i've read that games like pokémon or animal crossing are great for learners as they provide lots of written input at a relatively simple level.

Cons

• Even Pokemon will be a substantial challenge. I generally do not recommend trying to play videogames at A1.
• When she started to learn reading in class, I tried to get my kid into Pokemon, and while she had some interest in a few cute Pokemon, it was largely a failure.
• Pokemon(pokemon tv on youtube)
• Digimon has better games, better designs and more interesting seasons! Pokémon is cuter though, that probably makes it win out.
• The Digimon Story games are what Pokemon should / could be if they weren’t lazy cash grabs. ... Pokemon is arguably more popular but their games have been shit for years in comparison.